Your guide to new films in cinemas across Australia this week, 13 to 19 January 2025.
For the monthly guide to new film releases, head to our guide for new films in January.
New movies
16 January
Dragonkeeper
In this animated adventure, the dragons of ancient China are on the brink of extinction, and their only hope is a brave young girl on a perilous journey to save the last dragon egg.
Director: Jian-Ping Li, Salvador Simó
Cast: Lucia Perez, Mario Gas
Classification: PG
Country: China, Spain
Runtime: 99m
Emilia Pérez
Overqualified and overexploited, Rita (Saldaña) employs her skills as a lawyer in the service of a large firm more prone to clear criminals than to serve justice. But an unexpected way out opens up to her: helping cartel leader Manitas (Karla Sofía Gascón) retire from business and execute the plan he has been secretly refining for years: finally becoming the woman he has always dreamed of being.
Director: Jacques Audiard
Cast: Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez
Classification: CTC
Country: France
Runtime: 132m
In the Grey
Jake Gyllenhaal and Henry Cavill reunite with director Guy Ritchie for this action film revolving around two extraction specialists who have to designate a route of escape for a senior female negotiator.
Director: Guy Ritchie
Cast: Henry Cavill, Jake Gyllenhaal, Rosamund Pike
Classification: CTC
Country: USA, UK
Runtime: TBC
Magic Beach
Nine children and a dog bring their imaginations to life in this Australian family film based on Alison Lester’s book, conjuring the talents of some of the country’s leading animators.
Director: Robert Connolly
Cast: Spencer Ellis Anderson, Rylee Chuck, Elliott Hayes
Classification: G
Country: Australia
Runtime: 80m
Sing Sing
Oscar nominee Colman Domingo (Rustin) leads this A24 drama, based on a true story, following a prison theatre group that escapes the reality of incarceration through the creativity of staging a play. The cast includes actors who have been incarcerated.
Director: Greg Kwedar
Cast: Colman Domingo, Paul Raci
Classification: M
Country: USA
Runtime: 107m
We Live in Time
An up-and-coming chef and a recent divorcée find their lives forever changed when a chance encounter brings them together, in a decade-spanning, deeply moving romance.
Director: John Crowley
Cast: Andrew Garfield, Florence Pugh
Classification: M
Country: UK
Runtime: 108m
Wolf Man
With his marriage fraying, Blake persuades his wife Charlotte to take a break from the city and visit his remote childhood home in rural Oregon. As they arrive at the farmhouse in the dead of night, they’re attacked by an unseen animal and barricade themselves inside the home as the creature prowls the perimeter. But as the night stretches on, Blake begins to behave strangely, transforming into something unrecognisable.
Director: Leigh Whannell
Recently released
9 January
Conclave
Stanley Tucci, Ralph Fiennes, Isabella Rossellini and John Lithgow star in this film from the director of 2022’s All Quiet on the Western Front. The story follows Cardinal Lomeli as he oversees the group of Cardinals responsible for selecting a new Church leader while trying to uncover a secret from the late Pontiff.
Director: Edward Berger
Cast: Stanley Tucci, Ralph Fiennes, Isabella Rossellini
Classification: PG
Country: USA
Runtime: 120m
ScreenHub: Conclave film review: pope opera sizzles with pontificate pulp
Monster Summer
When a mysterious force begins to disrupt their big summer fun, Noah and his friends team up with a retired police detective to embark on a monstrous adventure to save their island.
Director: David Henrie
Cast: Mel Gibson, Mason Thames
Classification: PG
Country: USA
Runtime: 98m
Octopus With Broken Arms
Coinciding with a grand local holiday celebration, wealthy businessman Zheng Bingrui invites his daughter Tingting’s teacher Li Huiping and a group of classmates’ parents to a party at his home, but Tingting is suddenly kidnapped. Police officer Zhang Jingxian leads a team to investigate the case, but the kidnappers threaten to end Ting Ting’s life unless Zheng Li brings a huge ransom.
